


An Ode to Queenscliff

by martinisandart



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Cute, Day At The Beach, Established Relationship, F/M, Post-Season Three, Queenscliff, jack and phryne, omg I’m writing an established relationship fic, phrack - Freeform, seaside shenanigans, soft soft soft, wtf is up with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 11:16:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20705099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martinisandart/pseuds/martinisandart
Summary: A few months after Phryne has returned from England, she revisits Queenscliff with a certain detective inspector by her side, and discusses her feelings over fish & chips while laying on the sand next to her love.





	An Ode to Queenscliff

Queenscliff was always infinitely more beautiful when you weren’t chasing the tail-end of a murder, or a disappearance of two of your aunt’s friend’s house staff- the crisp sea air that coated everything in a coolness that was most pleasant in the heat at the height of summer, the sand that crunched underfoot and coated everything (sandwiches did, in fact, have reasoning behind their name after all), and the beautiful colours that made up the landscape made the area pleasing to all the senses- not just the mind. 

It wasn’t that Phryne was ungrateful a murder being thrown her way the last time that she had graced Queenscliff with her presence, but moreover the fact that it had gotten in the way of a delightful family holiday, of which she had been planning for weeks. No rhyme, no reason, just a sudden disappearance, and a terribly unfair murder of two innocent souls. The road to justice never did run smooth, and that was one of the things that perturbed her the most about becoming a lady detective: one never did know if they were doing the right thing or not, and in the slim case that you were, it was always called into an unjust light anyway, and usually by a man who had no right to have his nose stuck in business that was not his to begin with! 

Phryne sighed, and pulled her wide-brimmed hat down over her hair a little more forcefully than was strictly necessary, watching as her adoptive daughter Jane frolicked in the foam-capped waves. Once she had been assured with a wave and a laugh that the girl wasn’t going to be dragged under by a rip current, Phryne settled back to sitting down on her picnic blanket, and picking up her book, let her mind wander once more.

That last murder investigation in this end of town had been a complete mess. The unjust murder, the stealing of coins that were technically worthless, the flogging of goods that were only given away for vegetables and produce- because who needed serving platters anyway? 

It wasn’t the exchanges of the serving platters and silverware that had unsettled her at all though, of course it was not. It was more the fact that the murder himself had attempted to seduce her... in the weakest sense of the word. Flirting with her in his study, asking if she liked rocks (of all things!), giving her a certain look that was supposed to be becoming, and was anything but. Admittedly, she thought to herself, it hadn’t helped his case that he wasn’t exactly handsome. His hair had been the epitome of an absolute mess, his suit was a colour that certainly did not offset the colour of his eyes to perfection, his sword collection was one that she did not ever want near her, and well, he just wasn’t- 

A pair of strong arms encircled her shoulders, and the deep scent of sandalwood and pomade, mixed with salt and an underlying soapy smell filled her senses. Of course. That was why she hadn’t liked Mr. McNaster- he wasn’t Jack, and no one else was.

Phryne chuckled.  
“Welcome back, inspector. I was about to send out a search party if you didn’t come back soon!”   
His laugh rumbled- a low and steady noise that was slowly becoming one of Phryne’s absolute favourite noises.  
“You’d never send out a search party for me, Miss Fisher.” he said with a smile, removing his arms from around her and sitting down next to her on the blanket,  
“You’d come after me yourself, no matter what. No manpower, no thinking, just coming straight after me.”  
Phryne smiled brightly, and when Jack moved an arm away from his side, she immediately leans into his shoulder, happily cuddling closer when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
“And I thought asking someone to come after me was my trademark, Jack Robinson!” she exclaimed with a surprising level of fondness in her voice, and Jack couldn’t help but press a soft kiss to her forehead.   
“Whatever you say, Miss Fisher- though I did come back, and I do bring offerings of food.”  
Phryne couldn’t help but laugh, so much as she tried to choke it back.  
“You always think of your stomach, Jack dear.” she said, and with those couple of words, Jack was taken back to the first time she had bought him lunch in his office in 1928, the time she had told him that he had that ‘lean and hungry look’, and had fed him gratin off a fork in exchange for some case files.

Phryne noticed her lover’s gaze that had wandered far off into the distance, and how he was looking out to the bay without any certain viewpoint. She leant over and ran one hand down the side of his cheek, cupping it in her hand. His face turned to her once more, and he placed a gentle kiss onto the tip of her nose.   
“What are you thinking about, Jack?” she asked gently, letting her hand trail down his cheek before resting it on his chest, just above his heart. She smiled to herself: he did look deliciously relaxed in a pair of loose slacks and a button down shirt that was popped open at the second button. His usual overcoat was nowhere to be seen, and a smile had adorned his features for most of the day, and it was a most welcome sight to a certain lady detective. Jack had started to smile much more in the last few months, and it was always lovely to know that her dour inspector did, in fact, know how to smile.

Jack shook her out of her thoughts and started to unfold the newspaper bundle that he had bought back to the blanket with him.  
“I’m just thinking.” he said softly,   
“About the last time we were here.”  
Phryne looked at him adoringly.  
“And what were you thinking, inspector? I know that I’m a detective, but I’m afraid I can’t read minds!” she winked at him, and a smile pushed its way back onto her features when she realised the newspaper parcel contained freshly fried fish, and chips that, if her nose was not betraying her, had been seasoned with just the right amount of salt and vinegar. 

Jack noticed her look, and fed her a chip from between his fingers. All the while, she looked like a cat that had gotten all the cream, and then some- perfectly happy, and more than 100% content.   
“How the last time we were here, I was a lowly Detective Inspector in your eyes still, and you were of course, that one lady who kept appearing to need my assistance with her everyyyyyyy case.”   
Phryne laughed and lay back on the blanket, Jack immediately joining her, letting her rest her head on his chest.   
“Not every case, Jack!” She exclaimed,  
“Just the ones where I wanted a coin collector in on the job!”   
Jack rolled his eyes.  
“I sold my coin collection at age twelve-“  
“-to buy a bicycle. I know, Jack!”   
Her cheeks started to colour a pale pink, and she avoided his eye contact.  
“Must I do some detecting of my own Miss Fisher, or are you blushing?”   
Phryne her face in his shoulder and mumbled into his sleeve.  
“What was that?”  
“Youreallythinkionlyinvitedyoutolookatcoins?”   
Jack sighed deeply, and after realising what she said, bought one hand up to stroke her hair.   
“Of course I didn’t, Phryne.”   
His voice was soft, and he continued to caress her hair as she started to finally look him in the eyes once more.  
“Sharing the fish and chips under the pier, laughing about pocket watches in my room, sneaking around behind Aunt P and Mrs. McNaster’s backs, dropping off a freezing cold pier and saying I’d wear less, our nightcap on the day we got home... Jack Robinson.” The man in question had gone suspiciously quiet.  
“Hmmm?” he grabbed another chip and ate it thoughtfully, while Phryne’s voice filled his ear.  
“I think Queenscliff was when I realised I loved you.” 

Jack smiled, and turning onto his side, planted a gentle kiss on her lips, not caring for propriety or the fact Jane was mere meters away.   
“Well thank goodness you did.” he said quietly,  
“I don’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy fic Thursday! This sucks, but I’m back, as perpetually exhausted as ever. Five hours of grading history papers yesterday, two and a half hours of baking today, far too many hours staring at my computer and hoping my women’s rights paper will write itself.... le sigh.  
Hopefully this small, fluffy interlude will tide us over till I write my Whumptober piece (I’m as scared as you)  
Sending love!  
\- T xx


End file.
